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<div class="sect1" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">
<a name="coding-standard.naming-conventions"></a>B.3. Naming Conventions</h2></div></div></div>
<div class="sect2" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="coding-standard.naming-conventions.classes"></a>B.3.1. Classes</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
                Zend Framework standardizes on a class naming convention whereby the names
                of the classes directly map to the directories in which they are stored.
                The root level directory of the ZF standard library is the "Zend/" directory, whereas
                the root level directory of the ZF extras library is the "ZendX/" directory. All 
                Zend Framework classes are stored hierarchially under these root directories..
            </p>
<p>
                Class names may only contain alphanumeric characters. Numbers are permitted
                in class names but are discouraged in most cases. Underscores are only permitted in place
                of the path separator; the filename "Zend/Db/Table.php" must map to the
                class name "Zend_Db_Table".
            </p>
<p>
                If a class name is comprised of more than one word, the first letter of each new
                word must be capitalized.  Successive capitalized letters are not allowed, e.g.
                a class "Zend_PDF" is not allowed while "Zend_Pdf" is acceptable.
            </p>
<p>
                These conventions define a pseudo-namespace mechanism for Zend Framework. Zend Framework
                will adopt the PHP namespace feature when it becomes available and is feasible for our developers to use in their applications.
            </p>
<p>
                See the class names in the standard and extras libraries for examples of this classname convention. 

                <span class="emphasis"><em>IMPORTANT:</em></span> Code that must be deployed alongside ZF libraries but is not
                part of the standard or extras libraries (e.g. application code or libraries that are not distributed by Zend)
                must never start with "Zend_" or "ZendX_".
            </p>
</div>
<div class="sect2" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="coding-standard.naming-conventions.filenames"></a>B.3.2. Filenames</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
                For all other files, only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and the dash
                character ("-") are permitted. Spaces are strictly prohibited.
            </p>
<p>
                Any file that contains PHP code should end with the extension ".php", with the notable exception of view scripts. The following
                examples show acceptable filenames for Zend Framework classes.:

                </p>
<pre class="programlisting">
Zend/Db.php

Zend/Controller/Front.php

Zend/View/Helper/FormRadio.php
                </pre>
<p>

                File names must map to class names as described above.
            </p>
</div>
<div class="sect2" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="coding-standard.naming-conventions.functions-and-methods"></a>B.3.3. Functions and Methods</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
                Function names may only contain alphanumeric characters. Underscores are not permitted.
                Numbers are permitted in function names but are discouraged in most cases.
            </p>
<p>
                Function names must always start with a lowercase letter. When a function name consists
                of more than one word, the first letter of each new word must be capitalized. This is
                commonly called "camelCase" formatting.
            </p>
<p>
                Verbosity is generally encouraged. Function names should be as verbose as is practical to fully describe their purpose and behavior.
            </p>
<p>
                These are examples of acceptable names for functions:

                </p>
<pre class="programlisting">
filterInput()

getElementById()

widgetFactory()
                </pre>
<p>
            </p>
<p>
                For object-oriented programming, accessors for instance or static variables should always be prefixed with
                "get" or "set". In implementing design patterns, such as the singleton or factory
                patterns, the name of the method should contain the pattern name where practical to more thoroughly describe behavior.
            </p>
<p>
                For methods on objects that are declared with the "private" or "protected" modified,
                the first character of the variable name must be an underscore. This is the only
                acceptable application of an underscore in a method name. Methods declared "public"
                should never contain an underscore.
            </p>
<p>
                Functions in the global scope (a.k.a "floating functions") are permitted but discouraged in most cases.
                Consider wrapping these functions in a static class.
            </p>
</div>
<div class="sect2" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="coding-standard.naming-conventions.variables"></a>B.3.4. Variables</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
                Variable names may only contain alphanumeric characters. Underscores are not permitted.
                Numbers are permitted in variable names but are discouraged in most cases.
            </p>
<p>
                For instance variables that are declared with the "private" or "protected" modifier,
                the first character of the variable name must be a single underscore. This is the only
                acceptable application of an underscore in a variable name. Member variables declared "public"
                should never start with an underscore.
            </p>
<p>
                As with function names (see section 3.3) variable names must always start with a
                lowercase letter and follow the "camelCaps" capitalization convention.
            </p>
<p>
                Verbosity is generally encouraged. Variables should always be as verbose as practical to describe the data that the developer
                intends to store in them. Terse variable names such as "$i" and "$n" are discouraged for all but the smallest loop contexts.
                If a loop contains more than 20 lines of code, the index variables should have more descriptive names.
            </p>
</div>
<div class="sect2" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="coding-standard.naming-conventions.constants"></a>B.3.5. Constants</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
                Constants may contain both alphanumeric characters and underscores. Numbers are permitted
                in constant names.
            </p>
<p>
                All letters used in a constant name must be capitalized.
            </p>
<p>
                Words in constant names must be separated by underscore characters. For
                example, <code class="code">EMBED_SUPPRESS_EMBED_EXCEPTION</code> is permitted but
                <code class="code">EMBED_SUPPRESSEMBEDEXCEPTION</code> is not.
            </p>
<p>
                Constants must be defined as class members with the "const" modifier. Defining constants
                in the global scope with the "define" function is permitted but strongly discouraged.
            </p>
</div>
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